
The OCD Stories
Welcome to The OCD Stories, hosted by Stuart Ralph. The podcast has been heard over 7million times globally. Check out your first episode from our existing hundreds of episodes featuring experts, and people experiencing symptoms just like you today. If you do, you may just feel understood, heard and possibly help you identify your next step in your own personal journey to healing.
Disclaimer - this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. Please seek treatment from a licensed mental health professional.
Latest episodes

Mar 10, 2024 • 42min
Emma Roselli: Working with parents of children and teens experiencing OCD (#424)
In episode 424 I interviewed Psychotherapist Emma Roselli. We discuss her therapy journey, working with Stuart at The Integrative Centre for OCD Therapy, working with and supporting parents of children and teens with OCD, what parents can do more of to support their child, acknowledging the tough experiences of parenting, boundaries and reducing accommodations, ruptures in the parent child relationship, working with taboo intrusive thoughts with children and teens, how parents can help around taboo intrusive thoughts, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/emma-424 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast

Mar 3, 2024 • 38min
The Lively Minds podcast interviews Stuart, and Matthew Antonelli (IOCDF): Tackling misinformation about OCD (#423)
In episode 423 Will Sadler and Ellie Page of the Lively Minds podcast interviewed myself (Stuart), and Matthew Antonelli of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) about tackling the misinformation about OCD. We talk about how misunderstood OCD is, why the media gets it wrong, the letting your intrusive thoughts win social media trend, educating a news outlet on OCD miseducation, educating clinicians, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/ocd-misinformation-423 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast

Feb 25, 2024 • 54min
Joshua Fletcher (Anxiety Josh): And how does that make you feel? (#422)
In episode 422 I interviewed Psychotherapist Joshua Fletcher (Anxiety Josh) about his new book, ‘And how does that make you feel?’. We talk about his new book, the voices he uses in his book that narrates his inner dialogue, we discuss some of the clients in the book, the writing process being cathartic, we discuss integrative therapists, what he hopes the book achieves, emotional conservatism, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/josh-422 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast

Feb 18, 2024 • 46min
Story: Iona (#421)
In episode 421 I chat with Iona who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss her earliest OCD memory and it feeling like a premonition, her obsessions and compulsions, worries of harm coming to her family, wanting to normalise embarrassing compulsions, family support, medication, starting CBT as a teenager and having a tough time engaging and then being ready for therapy later on, how her sister helped, words of hope, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/iona-421 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast

8 snips
Feb 11, 2024 • 56min
Dr Sam Greenblatt: A review of the therapies that have an evidence base for OCD (#420)
Dr. Sam Greenblatt, a licensed clinical psychologist, talks about relationship OCD, therapy nuances, prioritizing emotions, and the limitations of CBT for OCD. He highlights the need for more research and discusses the importance of individualization and flexibility in therapy. The episode concludes with expressions of gratitude and reminders about Patreon and the podcast not replacing therapy.

Feb 4, 2024 • 33min
Story: Saraa D. Lee (#419)
In episode 419 I chat with Saraa D. Lee who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. Saraa is a therapist (LCSW) at Soul Spa Psychotherapy and is an OCD and Trauma specialist. We discuss her story, traumatic experiences in her childhood, her obsessions and compulsions, not getting a diagnosis, her therapy journey, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/saraa-419 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast

Jan 28, 2024 • 47min
Dr Steven Phillipson: OCD in times of crisis (#418)
In episode 418 I chat with Dr Steven Phillipson. Steven is a licensed clinical psychologist who specialises in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for OCD. Steven is the Clinical Director at the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy in New York. We discuss OCD in times of crisis, the terms of blood lust and guilt thrill, character indictment OCD, feeling bad because you’re not giving any attention to a crisis, or focusing too much on a crisis because it triggers OCD, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/phillipson-418 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast

5 snips
Jan 21, 2024 • 42min
Story: Jesse Birnbaum and Sandy Robinson (OCD and chronic illness) (#417)
Jesse Birnbaum and Sandy Robinson share their OCD stories, living with OCD and chronic illnesses, going through therapy, setting up their special interest group, their experience of support groups, and words of hope for a hopeful and meaningful life

Jan 14, 2024 • 1h 11min
Jonny Say: Positive emotions and experiences as triggers for OCD (#416)
In episode 416 I chat with Jonny Say. Jonny is a UK based therapist and co-director at The Integrative Centre for OCD Therapy. We talk about The OCD Camp, positive emotions and experiences as triggers, Jonny’s personal experiences with this, perfectionism of experience, shame around positive emotions and experiences, therapy around this issue, he gives theme examples, self-compassion, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/jonny-416 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast

Jan 7, 2024 • 51min
Story: Jack McGlynn (#415)
In episode 415 I chat with Jack who has kindly agreed to share his OCD story with us. We discuss his story, somatic themed OCD, contamination themed OCD, going through grief, ADHD, pure O, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/jack-415 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast